Tobacco-press.



A. I. FJELSTED.

TOBACCO PRESS. APPLICATION FILED Nov. a, 1907.

Patented Jan. 12,1909. 4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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A. I. FJELSTED.

TOBACCO PRESS.

APPLIoA'rIoN FILED Nov. 9, 19o?.

Patented Jan. 12,1909.

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A. I. PJELSTED.

TOBACCO PRESS.

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A. I. PJELSTED.

TOBAGGO PRESS.

APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 9, 1907.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

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TOBACCO-PRESS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 12, 1909.

Application led November 9, 1907. Serial No. 401,508.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALVIN I. FJELsrED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Colfax, in the county of Dunn, State of YWisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tobacco-Presses; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,

clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to tobacco presses and more particularly to that class which are foot operated.

It is the object of the invention, primarily, to provide a press of this type of such construction that not only may the tobacco be firmly compressed but be made into a bale prior to its removal from the press and in carrying out my invention I provide a press having sectional sides and corresponding sections of the sides have a height equal to the height of the section to be formed, the other sections of the sides being adapted to be folded downwardly or dropped to permit of completing the bale.

More specifically stated, I provide a press of this type consisting of a baling box having a hinged follower arranged therein and a foot operated means for lowering said follower to compress the material in said baling box into the form of a bale. I also provide in connection with the said foot operated means and with the sectional sides, means for holding the upper sections of the sides compressed into a bale-like mass at which time the said sections of the sides are automatically released and permitted to drop.

A further object of the present invention is to provide means for holding the follower in raised position and a removable foot lever which when inserted into place, releases said means and permits of downward movement of the follower, it being understood that the foot lever is only placed in position when it is desired to compress the tobacco.

Aside from the salient features above enumerated, there are other subsidiary features which will appear in the course of the following specific description of the press and which will be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a top plan view of the press, Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view therethrough, Fig. 3 is a view in elevation of one end of the press showing in dotted lines the sides partly dropped, Fig. 4 is a detail front elevation of one end of the press, Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken through the middle of the press but in a plane at right angles to the plane of Fig. 2, and, Fig. 6 is a similar view but showing the follower lowered.

As shown in the drawings, the press comprises a baling box made up of a floor 10, front legs or standards 11, and rear legs or stands 12. rIhe legs 11 and 12 at each end of the press are connected at their lower ends by base legs 13, these legs being extended forwardly beyond the press to a considerable distance but being terminated but a short distance rearwardly of the press, at their rear ends, their said ends being connected by means of a cross bar 14 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, it being understood that these base legs 13 serve to firmly support the press against overturning in a forward direction. The need for the provision of such means will be presently made apparent. The legs 11 and 12 extend vertically at the ends of the press and each of the said legs is substantially equal in width to one half the width of the ends of the press or rather its baling box, the inner or opposed edges of the legs 11 and 12 at each end of the press being spaced as at 15 and the legs 11 being reduced in width as at 16 fora purpose to be presently described.

Secured to the legs 11 and 12 at each end of the press are the ends 17 of the baling box, these ends having their lower edges coincident with the iioor of the said baling box and their upper edges terminating short of the upper ends of the said legs 11 and 12 and being secured to the said legs and extending across the 'space 15 between the legs. The baling box is further made up of a rear side wall comprising a fixed section 18 and an upper section 19 which is supported by and connected to the upper ends of bars 20 which bars are hinged at their lower ends as at 21 to the said fixed section 18 adjacent the lower edge thereof and to opposite sides of the middle of the same. The baling box is further made up of a front side wall which is also comprised of a pair of sections the lower section being indicated by the numeral 22 and the upper section by the numeral 23, the section 22 being hinged at its lower edge as at 24 to the front edge of the floor of said box and having secured to it short cleats 25 to the upper ends of which are hinged the lower ends of cleats 26 which cleats carry and are conof the heads being designed for engagement with the correspondingllugs and the beveled faces of the heads being designed to ride over the rounded portions 28 of the corresponding lugs when the said sections 19 and 23 are swung to vertical position, the latches being held by means of springs 31, normally in posi tion for such engagement, it being understood of course that the said springs serveas ameans wherebythe latches are automatically sprung into locking engagement with the lugs. The ends of the latches at each end of the baling box opposite their ends at which the heads are formed, are opposed and terminate butV slightly short of each other, the function of which construction will presently be fully explained. ln order to hold the section 22 in raised position, gravity latches 33 are pivoted upon the said section adj acent each end thereof and are designed to seat when the section is raised to vertical position in notched keepers 34 carried by the ends 1 7 of the baling ress. p Fixed at its lower end to the cross piece 14 at the middle thereof is an upright 35 and secured to the underside of the iioor 10 of the baling box is a cleat 38 which projects rearwardly rtlierebeyond and has secured to it the upper end of the upright 35. Springs 37 are connected at their upper ends `to the cleats 2O for the -support of the section 19 and at their lower ends these springs are secured tothe upper ends of the upright 35. The connection of the upright 35 with the cleat 36 is braced by means of a brace 33. Pivoted at their upper ends as at 39 to the side or longitudinal edges. of the cleat 36 are arms 40, and these arms depend in spaced parallel relation and have pivoted between their lower ends as at 41 the lower end of an arm 42 which works 'between downwardly extending guides 43 carried by the cleat 36. At its forward end, this arm 42 is hinged as at 44 to a cross piece 45 which connects the lower ends of uprights 46 these uprights being slidably received between the opposed edges of the legs 11 and 12 at each end of the press, the uprights being of course extended vertically through the floor 10 of the baling box and being further held in place by means of the ends 17. Hinged at one of its ends as at 47 to the upper end of one of the uprights 46 is the follower 43 of the press, this follower' beingl provided with a handle 49 by means of #which `it may be raised or in other words swung to open position so as to permit of the 'tobacco being introduced into the baling box. After the proper quantity of tobacco has been Aintroduced into the baling box Yit is of course desirable and necessary that Vmeansbe provided for latching or holding the other end of the follower against upward movement so that when the follower is depressed it will compress the tobacco into the bale-liko form. This means consists in a latch plate 50 Awhich -is slidably held upon l the upper face of the follower by means of a headed guide pin 51 which is engaged through a slot 52 in said plate, the plate being received at its upper end through a slot formed 7in a transverse cleat 53 upon Vthe said follower at the vfree end thereof. VA spring 54 is connected to this cleat and to the latch plate and this spring serves to normally holdsaid plate at the limit of its outer' movement and in engagement with a keeper 55 secu-red u on the lcorresponding upright 45. rEhe lato i plate is provided in its outer end with a notch 56 in which a pin 57 iinpinges when the latch is in engagement with its keeper, this pin being disposed diagonally beneath the said keeper and serving to hold the follower in -centered position and against sidewise movement. A finger piece 58 is provided upon `the latch plate and serves as -a vmeans whereby the plate may be moved out of engagement with the keeper. Y

ln order that the follower and its supporting uprights may be held raised or in other words at the ylimit of their upward move ment, a gravity latch 59 is pivoted 'to `and depends from the forward end ofthe cleat 36 and this latch drops into engagement beneath the cross piece 45 when the follower and its said uprights in raised position. The arm 42 is slotted as vat 60 at thatend which is hinged to the said cross piece 45 and the said latch 59 is received in -this slot ywhen the follower is raised. A yoke `6`1 is secured at its ends to the cross piece 45 and this yoke is so formed that its intermediate portion is curved downwardly and extends `-belo-w the said cross piece and it is through this `yoke that one end yof the foot lever'62 of the press is removably engaged, the lever `exadvance of the press las will be readily un'F derstood. It will also ber/.understood that `the lever when engaged through the yoke, engages beneath the arm 42 the said arm serving in edect as a fulcrum zfor `the lever. The upper edges of the sections 18 and22 which will be presently `fully described.-

'The operation of the press is as follows:

tending when so engaged considerably in.

and its said supporting uprights is raised, the said latch serving to 'hold the `follower are formed with notches 63, the functionof Y rlhe handle 49 is first grasped and an upward pull exerted thereon to lift the follower and its supporting uprights the latch 59 engaging beneath the cross piece 45. The latch plate 50 is then moved out of engagement with its keeper 55 and the follower swung to open position. The sides of the baling box are of course at this time in upright or raised position and the tobacco to be compressed into a bale is placed within said box there being cords 64 however placed in the box prior to this time and engaged in the notches 63 formed in the side sections of the box and a wrapper (not shown) of paper or other material placed within the box to serve as a lining. After as much tobacco as can be manually forced into the box has been received therein, the follower is swung to closed position, its latch plate 50 engaging the keeper 55 and the lever 62 is then inserted through the yoke 6l. The lever, when so inserted, rides beneath the gravity latch 59 and moves this latch out of engagement with the cross piece thereby permitting of downward movement of the follower. The foot llever is then depressed and this depression serves to move the follower as stated, compressing the tobacco into balelike form. At the upper end of each of the uprights 46 there is fixed a plate which is formed with a right angularly and outwardly extending portion 65 which is curved transversely with its convex face presented downwardly. These elements serve, in effect, as cams inasmuch as when the follower has been depressed to the proper degree the plates are brought into engagement with the opposed ends of the latches 29 and serve to lift the outer ends of these latches from engagement with the lugs or keepers 27 upon the side sections 19 and 23 thereby allowing these sections to drop or in other words swing downwardly. The cords 64 are then brought tightly around the bale and are tied and after the bale has been thus completed the latches 33 are disengaged from their keepers 34 and the section 22 lowered and the bale rolled out upon the floor in its completed state.

From the foregoing description of my invention and from the drawings it will be seen that I have provided a baling press which is particularly well adapted for use in baling tobacco and a press that may not only be manufactured at a low cost but is in every way practical and desirable for use.

Vllhat is claimed, is-

l. A baling press of the class described comprising a baling box, a follower movable vertically in said box, a latch for holding said follower raised, and a lever operable to release said latch and to lower said follower.

2. A baling press of the class described comprising a baling box, a follower movable vertically in said box, a latch for holding said follower raised, and a lever designed to be placed in operative position upon the press, said lever serving to release said latch when so placed and also serve as ameans whereby said follower may be lowered.

3. A baling press of the class described comprising a baling box, a follower movable vertically in said box, a latch for holding said follower in raised position, a movable support for the follower, lever supporting means carried by the follower support, and a lever designed to be engaged with said means, said lever serving, when so engaged, to release said latch and also serving as a means whereby said follower may be lowered.

In testimony whereof, l affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ALVIN l. FJELSTED.

Witnesses:

HENRY B. AUBURN, ELMER B. HILL. 

